{ Thursday, September 14, 2006 }
Tea snobs on the run will appreciate that long leaf tea can be had now in teabag form, according to this article, sent by Bill, who recalls that I am among them. I never drink tea at work, because it's messy, not my kitchen, and the hot water doesn't taste right. Is it just me, or does microwaved water taste different from water boiled on the stove?
LINK | 11:09 PM | TB
it is absolutely true! I come from a country where tea is on our table every day, for breakfast, dinner and sometimes even for lunch. I can't stand the tea bags, they lack of body and flavour. And for the water, micrwaves put some weird taste that I can't quite describe. You need to use a kettle with water and put it on the stove... that's the right way.
iris | September 15, 2006 9:19 AMI'm far from a tea snob, but I quite happily use the hot water coming out of the coffee stations. It isn't as hot as kettle water, but I would NEVER microwave my water, I agree that it leaves a really odd taste.
Scott G | September 15, 2006 10:59 AMI'm with y'all on this.
Penny | September 17, 2006 5:45 AMIn our office we have a really great Adagio teamaker; it heats the water just to boiling, steeps the tea for the appropriate amount of time according to its type, and then keeps it warm in the pot. It doesn't work for green teas, since it heats the water too high, but it's fantastic for black teas, oolongs and rooibos. The model we have at work is no longer available, and it looks like their current version (which apparently can regular the water temp as well as steeping time, so it would probably handle green teas) is sold out through mid-November too, but it's worth keeping an eye on: http://www.adagio.com/teaware/triniTEA.html
thom | September 17, 2006 1:16 PMmicrowaved water for tea is an abomination. while i do suffer through mediocre cups while out and about, there's nothing more beautiful than a home brewed cup.
heather | September 17, 2006 6:32 PMmicrowave my water for tea is a No for me. boiled in a kettle and slowly add it on my carefully hand picked leafs. no to strong or not to sweet. awaits the tricky part, just enough time to scoop all out and wait for the right temperature. sip it -burn my lip- and let it all rush thru my body. my ultimate tea.
at the moment no time for this, I just take Blue Mountain Coffee
Envicta
Envicta | September 18, 2006 12:47 AMmicrowave my water for tea is a No for me. boiled in a kettle and slowly add it on my carefully hand picked leafs. not to strong or not to sweet. awaits the tricky part, just enough time to scoop all out and wait for the right temperature. sip it -burn my lip- and let it all rush thru my body. my ultimate tea.
at the moment no time for this, I just take Blue Mountain Coffee
Envicta
Envicta | September 18, 2006 12:49 AMEasy there on the coffee, Envicta.
Penny | September 22, 2006 10:17 AMEasy there on the coffee, Envicta.
Penny | September 22, 2006 10:18 AMHey Movable Type, what's up?
Penny | September 22, 2006 10:43 AM(excuse any MT stuttering in advance)
The difference is most probably the oxygen level. Microwaves do not encourage the oxygen to leave and heats on a molecular level. While, on a stove, the oxygen is pushed out.
You can emulate that in a microwave, but you need to really boil the water (and risk cracking the container).
It also explains the reason why freezing boiled water gives clearer ice.
I agree microwaved water doesn't taste as good as stove-boiled. I also think it gets tepid sooner. I recommend a small electric kettle which boils the water in under a minute! Cheerio,
Jeffrey | September 28, 2006 9:00 AMThis is all true, although the difference between 'hard' and 'soft' water is also highly controversial.
For Justice | November 11, 2006 4:37 PM{ Post a comment }
'Tis true. The microwave tea tastes differently than the stove. Also, the hot water dispenser/coffee pot spigot at work isn't hot enough to steep a proper cup of tea.
Anarchic | September 15, 2006 8:29 AM